Christianity and Liberalism

J. Gresham Machen
Late Professor of New Testament in Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, PA

CONTENTS

PREFACE 1. INTRODUCTION 2. DOCTRINE 3. GOD AND MAN 4. THE BIBLE
5. CHRIST 6. SALVATION 7. THE CHURCH

Originally published in 1923 (Macmillan, NY), this book is now in the public domain. The electronic edition of this book was scanned and edited by Shane Rosenthal. It may be copied and distributed without restriction. In a few cases the spelling has been modernized [sr].

Introductory matters added as well as a quote about the title of the book. Bible references made more uniform. Footnotes have been placed in the text in square brackets and smaller type. Several errors have been corrected. A VERY few words have been replaced with more widely understood synonyms (without notice). Otherwise Machen's text is complete. HOWEVER a few comments, to correct some popular but false ideas, are placed in square brackets and clearly initialed [aal].

---

PREFACE

On November 3, 1921, the author of the present book delivered before the Ruling Elders' Association of Chester Presbytery an address which was subsequently published in The Princeton Theological Review, vol. xx, 1922, pp. 93-117, under the title "Liberalism or Christianity." The interest with which the published address was received has encouraged the author to undertake a more extensive presentation of the same subject. By courtesy of The Princeton Theological Review, free use has been made of the address, which may be regarded as the nucleus of the present book. Grateful acknowledgment is also due to the editor of The Presbyterian for kind permission to use various brief articles which were published in that journal. The principal divisions of the subject were originally suggested to the author by a conversation which he held in 1921 with the Rev. Paul Martin of Princeton, who has not, however, been consulted as to the method of treatment.

(Miscellaneous notes)

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, MI

Reprinted, April 1977
ISBN 0-8028-1121-3
Printed in the United States of America 

**************************

ABOUT THE TITLE

As the decade of the 70's closed, the Neo-Evangelicalism represented in the Presbyterian Church in America revealed its harvest of other Presbyterians who formerly took the strong separatist stand. The Presbyterian Journal December 5, 1979, announced "Two Presbyterian publications join forces." The Presbyterian Guardian, serving the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, founded by Dr. J. Gresham Machen, before there was any Orthodox Presbyterian Church, featured on its cover the Guardian with Machen's picture. This is the journal in which Machen maintained that the Presbyterian Church was judicially and officially apostate, and he called upon all of God's people to withdraw.

He led the Fundamentalists in the great battle against the Modernists and liberals. He named his little book Christianity and Liberalism, which he once said should have been called Christianity and Modernism, in which he expounded the purity of the church and purity of doctrine.

Now the Journal reports in its masthead "and continuing Presbyterian Guardian." It was indeed a revelation that the Guardian only had 3,000 subscriptions remaining, . . . . [The Christian Beacon, Jan. 17, 1980 - Included here by - aal].

What This Book Is About

In my little book, Christianity and Liberalism, 1923, I tried to show that the issue in the Church of the present day is not between two varieties of the same religion, but, at bottom, between two essentially different types of thought and life. There is much interlocking of the branches, but the two tendencies, Modernism and supernaturalism, or (otherwise designated) non-doctrinal religion and historic Christianity, spring from different roots. In particular, I tried to show that Christianity is not a "life," as distinguished from a doctrine, and not a life that has doctrine as its changing symbolic expression, but that—exactly the other way around—it is a life founded on a doctrine [From "Christianity in Conflict," an autobiographical essay on Machen's life and works - Included here by - sr].

Contents     Chapter 1    Chapter 2    Chapter 3
Chapter 4    Chapter 5    Chapter 6    Chapter 7
Return To Main Index

This Page Last Updated: 07/01/99 A. Allison Lewis aalewis@christianbeliefs.org